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PERSPECTIVE
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ing variation in skin color (at least four; ref. 1), no specific genes were
known. In contrast, geneticists were well aware of the genetic basis for
a number of mendelian diseases, where between-group differences in
incidence reflected differences in allele frequency6. They were also
aware of between-group differences in incidence of more complex
traits, traits without demonstrated genetic components even for the
within-group variation6. In addition, there was agreement that for
behavioral traits, little was known regarding a role for genes. Physical
anthropologists and geneticists 30 years ago took the position that
although we couldnt rule out a genetic basis for between-group variation in behavioral traits, we had no evidence indicating such a genetic
basis but did have evidence for a role for nongenetic factors1,5.
Today, the question of whether there is a biological or genetic basis
to race or racial differences is once again in the popular and scientific press, indicative of public interest in the basis for between-group
variation, especially for medical conditions and behavioral traits79.
Two recent books have argued strongly for a genetic basis for what
have been called race differences10,11. As writer Steve Olson notes,
Many people continue to believe that human groups have fundamental biological differences. They believe that outward variations in skin
color, facial features, or body shape reflect more consequential differences of character, temperament, or intelligence.12 Several authors,
including Olson, have made the opposite argument, stating that there
is no biological basis or meaning to race differences7,9,12,13.
The controversy stems, at least in part, from the possibility that
attitudes are influenced by whether people believe race is a biological or social construct. Indeed, research has shown that attitudes differ depending on whether individuals conceive of race as biological
or social14. Many social scientists have suggested that by linking
racial or ethnic categories to biology (especially genetics), one reifies those categories and thereby influences attitudes and behavior15.
For these reasons, authors have argued against assuming a genetic
basis without evidence5.
In this discussion, we define a social category or group as one determined by social factors; an individual is associated with such a category (or categories) based on a set of socially negotiated criteria. Given
this definition, race and ethnicity are social categories, even though
some inclusion criteria may be biological. The extent to which racial
or ethnic labels correlate with biological traits varies through time
and across the labels themselves. Much of that correlation is the outcome of human population history, tied closely to geography16. Here,
unless otherwise indicated, we use the term group to refer to a group
of individuals associated with a racial or ethnic label.
PERSPECTIVE
Has the scientific community made any progress since the early
1970s towards addressing the question of whether there is a genetic
basis for between-group phenotypic differences? Some have argued
that the sequencing of the human genome and related research have
provided evidence that the notion of race is biologically meaningless
and therefore useless17,18. Others, however, have made the opposite
argument, namely that recent studies show that genetic clusters correspond closely with groups defined by self-identified race or ethnicity
or by continental ancestry19.
In light of these contradictory statements, we consider here current
scientific understanding relevant to the question of the degree to
which phenotypic variation has a genetic basis. We first note a distinction between the terms genetic and biological. Genetic (i.e., DNA)
factors can be considered a subset of biological factors, whereas biological, including physiological and morphological, factors reflect
chance occurrences during development and the impact of environment (e.g., diet or training) as well as DNA sequence. We next consider
three approaches to the study of the basis for between-group phenotypic differences (Table 1).
Inference from familial correlations
Study designs from genetic epidemiology, including family, twin and
adoption studies, have been used extensively to estimate the proportion of trait variance that is due to genetic factors, commonly known
as heritability. Heritability estimates, however, are far from absolute
and depend not only on the population studied but also on the time
and location of study. Any differences in allele frequency between populations or differences in relevant environmental contributions will
alter heritability estimates. In addition, simplified models often lead to
overestimates of heritability20. Nonetheless, an estimate can provide
some insight into genetic contributions to trait variation within
groups.
Does a heritability estimate inform us of the extent to which a
genetic explanation underlies a group difference in a trait? The answer
depends on the nature of that trait. For most complex disease and
behavioral traits of interest, heritability is uninformative regarding
group differences. Such traits typically result from the interaction
between genetic and environmental contributors. A trait that seems to
be purely genetic (heritability of 1.0) in one group may also have a
group difference that is entirely environmental because an environmental factor differentiates the two groups. For example, studies have
shown that without musical training before age six, few individuals
will develop absolute pitch (also called perfect pitch). With musical
training before age six, some individuals will develop absolute pitch,
and whether they do so seems to be strongly familial and possibly
Table 1 Three methods for assessing the genetic component to within- and between-group variation
Method
Approach
Strengths
Weaknesses
Familial correlations
DNA analysis
Admixture analysis
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PERSPECTIVE
Figure 1 Two examples of group differences influenced by environmental or genetic factors. (a) Absolute pitch in individuals with early musical training (before
age 6) versus those without early musical training. Absolute pitch manifests primarily in the group that received early musical training, is familial and may have a
genetic component in the presence of this environmental factor22. This potential genetic influence does not manifest in the absence of early musical training,
and therefore the heritability of absolute pitch in a group with no early musical training would presumably be low. The difference in distribution is primarily
environmental. Data derived from ref. 21. (b) Taste sensitivity to phenylthiocarbamide in Europeans versus Native Americans. The phenylthiocarbamide tasting
gene (TAS2R38, also called PTC) on chromosome 7 is polymorphic in a European population sample, in which the low-sensitivity haplotype has a frequency of
0.50 and homozygotes are at frequency of 0.25. This haplotype is absent in a Native American population sample, in whom the heritability is presumably low. In
this case, the difference in distribution is genetic. Data derived from ref. 56.
(i.e., individual admixture) from the contributing ancestral populations. A positive correlation in the direction of the original group difference provides support for some genetic contribution to the
between-group variation. If individual admixture correlates with
other, unmeasured (or omitted) environmental, social, cultural or
behavioral traits, however, as is often the case, then the observed trait
correlation with individual admixture will be confounded, and a
genetic interpretation of the correlation will be unreliable. Although
inclusion of relevant environmental factors in the regression analysis is
helpful, it may still be impossible to know that all relevant environmental factors have been considered.
There are two ways a genetic conclusion from admixture analysis
can be more robust. First, if the individual admixture of individuals in
Table 2 Current understanding of genetic contribution to group differences for five different categories of traits
Trait category
Current understanding
Very detailed. Large-scale studies of DNA variants reveal average FST values of 0.050.15 and
average allele frequency difference of 0.120.15 between continental groups (global comparison)
and racial groups (US comparison). Differences in allele frequency vary in that some differences
are close to zero while others are much higher than 0.15.
Mendelian diseases
Detailed. Most mutations are rare and are specific to regions (e.g., continents) or groups
(e.g., races or ethnicities), reflecting the timing of mutations and human population history,
including founder effects, genetic drift more generally and, in some cases, natural selection.
Complex diseases
Limited. Partial evidence for a few diseases (e.g., HLA-associated diseases, Crohn disease,
Alzheimer disease) where some variants are group-specific and others are more broadly
distributed, possibly at different frequencies in different groups.
Behavior
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PERSPECTIVE
patterns, and group differences may be more easily resolved, than is
true for those traits more remotely related to sequence variation. In a
classic paper, Penrose gave the example of phenylketonuria where
traits closely related to the actual genetic variant (such as the DNA
sequence itself, electrophoretic mobility and serum phenylalanine levels) showed large differences between homozygotes and nonhomozygotes, whereas other traits (e.g., hair color) had much smaller
differences24. For the latter traits, many factors other than the gene
underlying phenylketonuria also contribute to variation. In discussing
how traits have been studied, and the inferences about group differences that have resulted, we therefore consider five sets of traits: (i)
DNA-level traits, where genotype is equivalent to phenotype; (ii)
mendelian traits; (iii) physical traits often used to categorize people in
terms of race or ethnicity; (iv) complex diseases; and (v) other complex phenotypes including behavior, cognitive abilities and temperament (Table 2).
Physical traits
Physical traits (e.g., skin pigmentation, hair form and facial features)
are sometimes used to categorize people according to race or ethnicity:
We know a little more regarding the genetic basis underlying these
traits now than we did in 1970, but not much in the case of humans.
The gene MC1R accounts for a small proportion of the variation in
human pigmentation45. Much more has been learned about mouse
coat pigmentation. As Jackson46 notes, Despite decades of research
on coat-color genes, mutagenic screens continue to identify new dominant mutations that affect pigmentation. Given the mouse data, it
seems likely that more than four genes (a minimum estimate 30 years
ago) contribute to variation in human pigmentation. Even though
these physical traits may have large racial differences, we cannot at this
time conclude that such differences reflect radically different allele frequencies at one or a few genes. It remains plausible that many genes
contribute to these traits and to the differences among populations.
DNA-level traits
Overall, our understanding of the pattern of human genetic variation
is quite consistent with that of authors three decades ago. We now
know details of the distribution of FST (the proportion of genetic variation between groups) across thousands of DNA markers. Recent estimates of average FST are similar to early estimates25, with exceptions
such as the human Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA (somewhat higher FST values) and sets of STR loci (relatively low FST values)2628. A low average FST for neutral genetic markers suggests that
the power to define phenotypic differences in racial and ethnic categories is not typical of a single neutrally evolving locus. On the other
hand, an FST estimate of 0.100.15 does not rule out a genetic basis for
phenotypic differences between groups. In fact, a low FST estimate
implies little about the degree to which genes contribute to betweengroup differences. Small differences in allele frequency indicated by a
low average FST are still sufficient for generating clusters of individuals
that correspond closely with groups defined by continental ancestry or
self-identified race or ethnicity19,27,2931. The joint effect of small differences in allele frequencies at multiple neutral genetic markers provides the power to cluster individuals19,32.
Complex diseases
Some progress has been made with respect to a number of diseases,
including inflammatory bowel disease and neurodegenerative diseases47,48, but inference of genes influencing complex traits such as
diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, psychiatric disorders and glaucoma remains a challenge49. Reports of linkage of these complex diseases to specific genetic regions are rarely replicated. Therefore, the
genetic basis for any between-group variation remains undetermined
in most cases. The greater the environmental contribution, the more
genetic factors and the more complex the interactions, the more difficult it is to characterize group differences in terms of genetic and environmental contributions.
Mendelian traits
The scientific community knows a great deal more about the role of
genes in disease, especially mendelian traits, today than it did in the
early 1970s. More than 1,000 traits have been mapped to specific chromosomal regions in the last 20 years or so33. Among these traits are a
number of drug-metabolizing enzyme activities34,35. These enzyme
activities have relatively high differentiation among populations, possibly because of the role of the enzymes in detoxifying compounds in
the diet36,37. Also, the extent to which genes underlying simple traits
have variable penetrance continues to be apparent; the correspondence between genotype and phenotype is far from simple.
As was true thirty years ago, loci with unusually high or low FST values
receive a great deal of attention because such loci may be under selection3840. Some of those markers are known to be associated with differences in disease incidence between groups (e.g., Duffy locus41). In
general, however, estimates of FST are of little clinical utility in characterizing racial or ethnic differences. For example, numerous disease or resistance mutations (many associated with mendelian diseases and others
not) are found almost exclusively in a single population (e.g., in individuals with European ancestry: hemochromatosis, HFE C282Y; HIV, CCR5
32; and Crohn disease, three CARD15 mutations)4244. Yet these variants have low FST values because there is little absolute variation in frequency across racial groups (FST typically less than 0.05 in these cases)19.
Behavioral traits
Little progress has been made towards elucidating a genetic basis for
any variation in traits such as cognitive ability, temperament and
athletic ability. Many studies have made claims regarding the role of
specific genes, but few of these have been replicated. The DRD4 polymorphism is a good example. Although initial reports claimed that
the polymorphism had a role in variation of novelty-seeking50,51, a
recent meta-analysis failed to find consistent support52. This category is a more extreme version of the complex-disease category, possibly having even more important social implications.
Why so little progress?
For complex diseases, and particularly for behavioral traits, little
progress has been made towards understanding any genetic basis for
within- or between-group variation. Does the lack of progress reflect a
lack of research? Complex diseases have certainly received a great deal
of attention and funding. Authors of the early 1970s felt that there
were good reasons not to spend money on research into the genetic
basis of between-group variation of cognitive traits1. Meta-analyses of
studies of traits such as novelty-seeking, however, suggest that the lack
of progress is not simply a matter of a lack of research.
Under relatively simple models, small differences in allele frequency
can lead to relatively large differences in trait frequencies. A trait influenced by several genes that interact with one another may be rare in
one group and far less rare in another. Similar models involving interactions between multiple nongenetic factors might also be explanatory. Such models might account for different frequencies of
individuals at the extremes of phenotypic distributions (e.g.,
marathon success of Kenyan runners8). If a model of interactions
among many genes and nongenetic factors best fits the data, however,
detecting any specific genetic contribution to trait variation will be
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(including recommendations for treatment) will come from an individualized analysis of genetic, nongenetic and additional unspecified
(in terms of the role of genes) factors. Racial or ethnic categorization
will continue to be useful as long as such categorization explains
variation unexplained by other factors.
COMPETING INTERESTS STATEMENT
The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.
Received 3 September; accepted 23 September 2004
Published online at http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics/
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